For further information related to this release,
contact the Fort Hood public affairs office at (254) 287-9993.
Today in Moraga, California, former classmates and friends
of Captain Mark Paine mourned his violent death this week in Iraq.

Thirty-two-year-old Captain Mark Paine died
earlier this week when improvised explosives detonated his humvee in northern
Iraq. It was his third tour of duty there and he was scheduled to leave
for good this December.

Captain Paine graduated from Campolindo High
School in 1993 and went on to West Point. Teachers and friends remembered
him.

Photo
Courtesy of the United States Military Academy

Burton Benton, friend of Paine's: "He's just
a consummate leader, charismatic. Just a strong individual. A true believer.
He prayed for his men everyday."

Thirty-two-year-old Mark Paine's life will
be celebrated this weekend in Moraga. He will be buried at Arlington National
Cemetery.
A Rancho Cucamonga, California, man was one of 70 soldiers
killed during October in Iraq, putting this month on track to be the deadliest
for U.S. forces since the siege of Fallujah nearly two years ago.

Captain Mark C. Paine, 32, of Rancho Cucamonga,
was killed Sunday night in Taji, Iraq, about 20 miles north of Baghdad.

He sustained injuries after an improvised explosive
device detonated near his vehicle, and he died at about 10:45 p.m., officials
at Fort Hood in Texas said.

Paine entered the Army in June 1997. During
his military career, Paine was awarded the Bronze Star, the Army Commendation
Medal, the Army Achievement Medal and other medals, including those for
service in Kosovo and Korea.

He had been assigned to the 1st Battalion,
66th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division at Fort Hood since
March 2005 as an infantry officer.

A strong, cold breeze blew through Arlington
National Cemetery yesterday as family and friends of Army Captain Mark
C. Paine gathered to remember the fallen soldier from Rancho Cucamonga,
California.

Paine, 32, died October 15, 2006, from injuries
suffered when a roadside bomb exploded near his vehicle in Taji, Iraq.

Family
members attend the Arlington Cemetery funeral for Army Captain Mark C.
Paine of Rancho Cucamonga, California.Paine,
32, was killed in Iraq October 15, 2006, when a roadside bomb exploded
near his vehicle. A colleague who served with him said,
"To characterize him as anything other than great would be wrong. . . .
It is a loss to our nation."

A marching band and horse-drawn caisson
led the procession to gravesite No. 8434, Section 60, where rows of white
headstones bear the names of service members killed in Iraq. Paine is the
271st person killed fighting in the war to be interred at Arlington.

Mourners shielded their eyes from the bright
autumn sun as a firing party released a three-volley salute and a bugler
played taps. Paine's older brother, Brandon, watched as his parents, Kairyn
and Roger, accepted folded U.S. flags from a Major General.

Last month, Paine's high school friends and
teachers gathered in California to remember his infectious laugh and warm
personality.

"He was a natural magnet for people and absolutely
sincere. There was no guile," said Tom Ehrhorn, his high school principal.
"He was just someone you wanted to be around. He had a very disarming way
of making people feel like the most important person in the world at that
moment, and people just warmed to him immediately."

Joining the military was a family tradition,
friends said, and Paine entered the U.S. Military Academy at West Point
after graduating from Campolindo High School in Moraga, California, in
1993.

His 13-year military career took him to South
Korea, Yugoslavia and Kosovo, and he was awarded the Bronze Star and Purple
Heart.

Barry Hearne, who served with Paine during
his first deployment to Iraq in 2003, said that Paine will be remembered
as a highly proficient infantry officer who was frequently called upon
by his brigade commander to complete tasks.

"To characterize him as anything other than
great would be wrong. . . . It is a loss to our nation to lose him as a
leader," Hearne said.

Lieutenant Colonel Dave Thompson, a commander
who served with Paine in Iraq, left similar condolences in an online memory
book.

"He was fearless and always in the thick of
it with his men," Thompson wrote. "His legacy of bravery and professionalism
lives on in his soldiers here in Iraq."

Paine frequently visited his home town, and
he ran into Ehrhorn during a visit in 2000. He spoke enthusiastically about
his work and his future with the military, Ehrhorn said.

"From all that he said to me, it exceeded his
expectations. My impression was that he was absolutely certain that he
had made the right choice," Ehrhorn said.

Ehrhorn said that Paine's death has had a profound
effect on the Northern California community where he was raised. "We're
feeling a great sense of loss, because there was so much more he could
have given. He made a difference," Ehrhorn said.

Ehrhorn said that Paine was a devoted Christian,
and members of his former congregation came out in large numbers to attend
a recent church service to show their appreciation of his sacrifice.

"It's sad to lose someone who was so wonderful,"
he said.

Honor
guard carry the coffin of U.S. Army Captain Mark C. Paine, during a funeral
ceremony at
Arlington National Cemetery, Friday, November 3, 2006

Honor
guards carry the coffin of U.S. Army Captain Mark C. Paine, during a funeral
ceremony at
Arlington National Cemetery, Friday, November 3, 2006

An
honor guard holds the flag that draped the coffin of U.S. Army Captain
Mark C. Paine, during
a funeral ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, Friday, November 3,
2006

Brother
of U.S. Army Captain Mark C. Paine, Roger Paine, left, bows his head, during
a funeral ceremony at
Arlington National Cemetery, Friday, November 3, 2006

The
mother, brother, sister-in-law and grandmother of U.S. Army Captain Mark
C. Paine,put
their hands on their chest as Taps is played during a funeral ceremony
at Arlington
National Cemetery, Friday, November 3, 2006

Mother
of U.S. Army Captain Mark C. Paine, Kairyn Paine, center, is handed the
flag that draped
her son's coffin by Army Major General Steve Speaks, left, during a funeral
ceremonyat
Arlington National Cemetery, Friday, November 3, 2006 On the right
is Brandon Paine, the brother of Captain Paine

NOTE:
The photos show his mother, Kairyn, and his brother, Brandon. They do not
show his father, Roger, who was standing nearby, but was not photographed
at all. So, the dark haired young man standing between a grey haired lady
dressed in black, and a blond haired younger woman, is Markís brother,
Brandon. The younger woman is Brandonís wife, Jill. The grey haired
lady in the maroon dress, to the far right in the photos is Markís grandmother
and Kairynís mother, Joy Grosclos
PAINE, MARK CHRISTOHER CPT
US ARMY DATE OF BIRTH:
06/26/1974 DATE OF DEATH:
10/15/2006 BURIED AT:
SECTION 60 SITE 8434 ARLINGTON
NATIONAL CEMETERY